4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You can almost hear the authors rolling the dice., November 3, 2004
This review is from: REALM OF THE UNDERDARK (Forgotten Realms Anthology) (Mass Market Paperback)
It's not that Realms of the Underdark is necessarily *bad*. Around the time that this stories were written, Drow elves (the evil dark-skinned elves that live deep underground and worship the dark spider-goddess Lloth) were all the rage in Forgotten Realms books. They must still be popular, as I never fail to see a new Drow book out there. It's only natural that TSR (before Wizards of the Coast bought them) would want to take advantage of such cool creatures. Drizzt Do'Urden was the coolest of the cool, an exiled Drow who is actually a hero. Of course, he features in one of the Realms of the Underdark novellas. Surprisingly he isn't really the star of it, but it does explain something of his past.
The problem is that there just isn't really anything exciting or original about any of the stories. Of the stories, one is very good, one is pretty bad, and the rest range from "bland" to "pretty good."
Getting the poor story out of the way first is "A Slow Day in Skullport," by Ed Greenwood. Greenwood is one of the masters of the Forgotten Realms setting, and he is determined to show it. Unfortunately, it's one of the more by-the-numbers entries in the book (and that's saying something!). Three of the Lords of Waterdeep, former adventurers who have retired to positions of wealth and power in the big city, find themselves on yet another adventure. Durnan, owner of the Yawning Portal and master of the entrance from Waterdeep into the Underdark, receives an image of a young noble girl in trouble, and is determined to rescue her. He sends a message to his friend, Mirt the Moneylender, who then alerts his friend Asper of the potential danger. He suspects a trap. Sure enough, it is, as Durnan is attacked by a Beholder, a floating creature with a huge eye in the center and a bunch of eyestalks, all of them able to shoot bolts of energy and other magical attacks. Durnan is the object of the Beholder's plan, and his friends have to come to his rescue. I'm not sure I can really say how bad this story is. I could almost hear the dice rolling during the battle scenes and there's no flow to them whatsoever. Greenwood also can't resist inserting Elminster into the story. Elminster is the greatest mage in the Realms and the character that Greenwood played when the Realms was a gaming world. He's in there for no apparent reason. Either that, or the story will be continued elsewhere, as other seemingly unrelated events happen as well. If true, that's a real minus for this story. What's even funnier is the sequence where Mirt is constantly attacked by various creatures of the Underdark and just swats everything away without raising a sweat. These characters don't feel like they're in any danger whatsoever, even when things start looking bleak at the end. Why should I care about these people? Ultimately, I didn't, and struggled to get through the story. Seemingly invincible characters are dull to read about. Next!
The final story, "Volo Does Menzo," is a wonderful conclusion written by Brian M. Thomsen. Percival Woodehous (or Pig, as he's known in Skullport) is a down-on-his-luck maitre'd who was the best in Waterdeep before being disgraced and forced to find what work he can in sinister Skullport. Volo, the infamous travel guide writer, was the cause of his distress, and Pig is surprised when he finds Volo in a tavern that Pig frequents. Determined to talk to him, he gets mixed up in an attack on Volo by two bumbling Drow disgraced warriors. It is said that Volo intends to write a guide to the Drow home city, Menzoberranzan, and they can't have that. Does Volo have something else up his sleeve? Or will both of them be put to death for the warriors' cleansed honour? This is a delightfully funny tale with the characterization of Volo being perfect. He loves the sound of his own voice and regales both tavern customers and his guards with tales of his travels all over the Realm. He's also devious, as his ultimate plan demonstrates. He has a terrific memory, as he ultimately does remember what happened to Percival (though it would have been nice if he had explained exactly what happened). Percival is also well done as the master chef, out of his element in a situation not of his making. I found the two bumbling Drow hard to get used to at first, because we've never seen one before. They are usually brutally efficient. However, their characterization grew on me, though Thomsen does go a little too far with their denseness. Still, the situations are hilarious, especially the confrontation with the two fish creatures, the Kuo-toa, that Volo and Percival witness when they're supposed to be asleep.
With one great story ("Volo Does Menzo), one good story ("Rites of Blood," by Elaine Cunningham), and three iffy ones ("Sea of Ghosts," by Roger E. Moore, "The Fires of Narbondel," by Mark Anthony, and "A Slow Day in Skullport"), this collection ultimately isn't that good. If you're a fan of the Forgotten Realms, you may enjoy these novellas. Otherwise, you should probably stay away.
David Roy
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Realms of the Underdark edited by J. Robert King, September 3, 2009
This review is from: REALM OF THE UNDERDARK (Forgotten Realms Anthology) (Mass Market Paperback)
Realms of the Underdark is edited by J. Robert King was released in 1996. This anthology has five short stories by Mark Anthony, Ed Greenwood, Elaine Cunningham, Roger E. Moore, and Brian M. Thomsen. Thomsen also writes the preface and the postscript. As you can guess, the stories written in here have to do with the Underdark and those who live there.
Preface: At the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- This little introduction is about the publisher of Tym Waterdeep Limited named Justin Tym as he worries over next years submissions and how his best author, Volo, and his relationship went downhill.
I'm not going to comment on this seeing as it just introduces the story.
The Fires of Narbondel by Mark Anthony- This story follows Zaknafein Do'Urden, the father of the ever famous Drizzt Do'Urden, on his quest to find a dagger for Matron Malice Do'Urden to gain Lloth's, the Spider Queen's, favor.
Negatives:
I have no problems with the story.
Positives:
1) Zaknafein. R. A. Salvatore may have created the weapon master, but Mark Anthony really brought him to life. I was excited to read and see how Zaknafein looked being written by someone else and I was not disappointed. There was an added depth into the character and you really see how Zak is Zak.
2) Drizzt. Everyone's favorite drow. This is pretty much the same case as above. I think that Mark Anthony really nailed Salvatore's character, albeit Drizzt is only 11 years old, but pretty much mimicked how Drizzt was in Salvatore's Homeland. At the same time, there was a new "twist" on to Drizzt character. I know this is blasphemy, but after reading this story... I really would have liked to see how Mark Anthony portrayed Drizzt in his never to be published book Shores of Dusk.
3) Mark Anthony. I just can't believe how well he took the characters that Salvatore created and pretty much made it feel like it was a Salvatore story. From Zak to Malice, Drizzt to Briza, he really did a wonderful job at creating these characters.
4) Jalynfein. Now I won't give up a lot of stuff on who this is, but I just WANT to read more about this character. He is very interesting and it's a shame that he only appears on a few pages.
Overall: 5/5
*I'm not even going to comment about how impressed I am with this story.*
A Slow Day in Skullport by Ed Greenwood- The main story that is being told is about three people taking on a beholder in order to "save" a noblewomen. That's about as in depth as I can get when trying to summarize this story.
Negatives:
1) Too much. The reason why I can't accurately summarize the story is because, well, there is just so much going on. I wasn't even sure everything that happened was supposed to be happening. It just was a mishmash of little pointless scenes and more headache driven pacing. I still don't know what actually happened.
2) Pointless scenes. There were a bunch of useless, meaningless scenes. The story probably could have just been 20 pages if you took away all the uselessness. The scenes with Elminster and Halaster served no real purpose. I'm still clueless as to why they were in here. I have no explanation at all.
3) Pacing. The scenes went by to fast to be able to make since out of anything. I wasn't even sure what was supposed to be happening. One minute your looking through the eyes of Asper, the next Durnan suddenly did something that we missed and then Mirt did something else that I have no idea how he did it. It just needed to slow down a little.
Positives:
1) Dramatis Personae. At least you get to see who all played a part in this mess. It is nice to see who the characters are and everything. The only thing is, why list people that didn't contribute anything except a line or just a very brief appearance? Still, some of the things said in here about the characters are pretty funny.
2) Main story. Now, even though I still can't decipher what was going on, the main story was pretty interesting. The whole fight with the beholder was fun and exciting. Then the whole missing noblewomen was an interesting twist.
3) Asper, Durnan, and Mirt. The main characters were pretty interesting as well. Asper, in my opinion, was by fair the best of the trio with her acrobatics and agility. It was fun to read about all her "crazy" moves. Durnan was interesting in that he is a tavern keeper, yet adventurer and that in his "age" he can still put up a good fight. Mirt was interesting because even though he was "bigger," he was agile and "smooth" with the ladies for some odd reason.
Overall: 2/5
*Too much going on to make any sense of it. My head is still trying to figure it all out. The only redeeming qualities were the character list at the end and the beholder fight.*
Rite of Blood by Elaine Cunningham- The story is about Liriel Baenre, the daughter of Gromph Baenre, who is the arch-mage of Menzoberranzan. Liriel is a up and coming mage, under the tutelage of Xandra Shobalar, the Mistress of Magic. During this time, Liriel is coming of age and is to undertake a ritual called "The Blooding" in which she would make her first kill and become a true drow. However, things don't go as Liriel thought they would.
Negatives:
I can't think of anything wrong about this story.
Positives:
1) Liriel. She's a very interesting character and it's nice to see a little more into her background than what was written in Starlight and Shadows trilogy. You can see how innocent, yet at the same time, not she is. And I liked that we get to see how bright and cunning she really can be.
2) Story. The whole story was wonderful. From the start to the finish, everything was done beautifully and it really made you want to read and finish the story.
3) Looking into the drow's mind. This really did offer a good look into how cunning and devious drow's are. You can get a great sense of how cold and calculating they are. Also, you get a sense that not all drow's are born evil, but are twisted into being that way.
Overall: 5/5
*Great look into a drow's mind and a great story revolving around Liriel Baenre.
Sea of Ghosts by Roger E. Moore- The story revolves around a deep gnome named Wykar and a derro named Geppo in search search of a treasure that they buried when enslaved by drow. Wykar is determined to destroy an egg, while promising that Geppo can have the gold. Along the way, peril and danger await them, along with betrayal.
Negatives:
1) Raurogh's Hall. The scenes involving the little community of Raurogh's Hall, were quite honestly, boring. I didn't see the point to add them in there, sure it may have been interesting if more thought and relevance were put into this part. The main thing I got out of this is they have an earthquake, a fisher women counts till she hears a splash and becomes a hero. Exciting.
2) Plains of Eastern Shaar. Once again, the same exact reason as above. It was almost as pointless. It was boring and at times, made no real sense to the plot. However, it does get somewhat tied in at the end, and I may be stretching it.
3) Geppo's Speech. It did not seem like he was slow, in fact the reason why he talked like that was because of a metal wire their drow masters tied around his neck. But why does that make him talk so, for lack of a better term, stupid? Granted, he might not be able to pronounce certain words, but come on...
Positives:
1) Wykar and Geppo. Both the characters were pretty thought out and very interesting. Wykar's paranoia about Geppo betraying him was done well. Throughout the story, he doesn't trust Geppo. Geppo on the other hand gets interesting towards the end, and because I don't want to give anything away, his back story was touching and sad. And it makes me think that he really is mentally challenged. Even the relationship between the characters was very interesting. Geppo seemed to wholly trust Wykar, while Wykar didn't seem to trust in Geppo at all. It made for an interesting story.
2) The End. The ending came unexpected and was very heart wrenching. It was one of those moments when I have to take a break, else I might lose it. It was that emotional and sad for me.
Overall: 4/5
*Even though I had some major problems with some scenes, the ending is what really made this story wonderful. It really made me sorrowful for the two main characters.*
Volo Does Menzo by Brian M. Thomsen- The story is about a maītre d'/waiter/cook named Percival Gallard Woodehous, commonly called Pig and the renowned traveling author Volo in their journey to Menzoberranzan, as prisoners.
Negatives:
1) Courun and Haukun. These were pathetic excuses for drow. It was terrible seeing how inept they are. I thought that all drow were a certain way...
Positives:
1) Percival. Every interesting character. He seemed like a maītre d' and was a very well done character.
2) Volo. I haven't really read much about Volo, and it was interesting to see his personality and how complex he can be at times. You couldn't get very much information with the short stories that he was featured in.
3) Humor. An amazingly funny story. Mostly because of the ineptness of the drow duo.
Overall: 4/5
*It seemed like this should have been a little shorter and it really did feel pretty fast and short.*
Postscript: Back at the Publishing House by Brian M. Thomsen- Just pretty much wraps up the previous story and wraps up the whole anthology.
Once again, not really commenting on this.
OVERALL ANTHOLOGY: 4/5
*Good stories overall, except for the Ed Greenwood confusion laced story.*
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